Coburn raises the temperature

COBURN RAISES THE TEMPERATURE…. Richard Poplawski recently gunned down three police officers, in part because he feared the non-existent “Obama gun ban.” In the wake of tragedy, I’d hoped some of the less responsible voices on the right might be inclined to lower the temperature a bit, especially since the administration hasn’t made any efforts to pursue new gun control measures.

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) said this week that the administration will try “all sorts of things” to chip away at the individual right to own a gun, warning of gun control policies aimed at “disarming us.”

Speaking at a town hall meeting in Cushing, Oklahoma, Coburn warned that Attorney General Eric Holder “doesn’t believe in the second amendment” and “doesn’t even know what an assault weapon is.”

“He doesn’t believe in our right to own and hold a gun,” Coburn said of Holder, whose nomination he vigorously opposed. “He doesn’t believe the Second Amendment means it’s a right for me to have a gun to protect myself.”

Coburn added, “I’m very worried about the Second Amendment, in terms of this administration,” adding, “Even though the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the Second Amendment means we get the right to own a gun.”

First, the Supreme Court’s ruling in Heller wasn’t “unanimous”; it was a 5-4 split. (Coburn was only off by four justices.)

Second, what possible good could it serve to have a sitting U.S. senator tell a group of voters that the administration is pursuing policies aimed at “disarming us”? A report prepared by the Department of Homeland Security, which was requested and prepared by Bush administration officials, just told us that irrational fears of gun control are stirring political radicals and extremists.

Coburn doesn’t even have Rick Perry’s excuse for irresponsible nonsense, since Coburn hasn’t announced whether he’ll seek re-election, and will probably win fairly easily if he does.

It’s the height of irresponsibility to spout such drivel. That Coburn seems to believe his own rhetoric doesn’t make it any better.